Movie Review

Visceral mother! is an insane metaphorical ride

There are times when you can go to the movies, turn off your brain, and simply enjoy whatever is presented on the screen as what it is. mother!, despite being one of the most insane spectacles in recent film memory, is not one of those films.

You must pay attention to every second of the film because there literally is not one moment that isn’t represented by metaphor. The logline of the film is “A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence,” but that simple statement does little to prepare you for the craziness it hides.

Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem play that couple, who live in an idyllic house in the middle of the country. The uninvited guests are Ed Harris, a doctor, and his wife, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Right from the start, Lawrence is tormented constantly. It begins slowly, with Bardem overruling her reasonable objection to allowing two strangers to stay in their house.

But things escalate quickly, with Pfeiffer, especially, proving to be the house guest from hell, pushing Lawrence around at every turn. When Lawrence turns to Bardem for support, she receives the equivalent of a shrug, making her feel even more isolated. After the guests’ two sons show up and start a heated argument in the house, that’s when things really go off the rails.

If you wonder why I’m referring to the characters by the actors’ names, that’s because none of them have real names. The film is heavy with Biblical references, and once you start understanding whom each character represents, the ideas that writer/director Darren Aronofsky tries to impart make a little more sense. A little.

But even if you’re able to comprehend the film’s metaphors, you’ll still be stunned by the swiftness in which events go from zero to outrageous. Many more people than just the initial houseguests make their way to the house, and each of them treats Lawrence with the same respect she’s gotten up to that point — which is to say, none.

It’s clear that Aronofsky has a dim view of the worth of humanity, as few, if any, of the people in the film have any redeeming qualities. They wantonly destroy things, run roughshod over Lawrence, and generally cause chaos. Aronofsky is far from the first to proffer an opinion on the destructive nature of humans, but the extent he goes to to express his disdain is impressive.

Lawrence is put through the wringer by the film, and it’s to her credit that she’s able to modulate her reactions as well as she does. The level of frustration brought on by the other characters indicates how fine a job the other actors — most notably Bardem, Harris, and Pfeiffer — do, as well.

mother! is a visceral, wild movie that may confound you as much as it entertains you. Aronofosky’s vision may not be for everyone, but it’s a hell of a ride.

Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence in mother!.

Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence in mother!

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence in mother!.

Movie Review

Jessica Chastain drama Dreams stumbles through steamy romance

Isaac Hernández and Jessica Chastain in Dreams

Photo courtesy of Teorema

Isaac Hernández and Jessica Chastain in Dreams.

The opening scenes of the new drama Dreams are bracing, fictional sequences that call to mind real-life scenarios. In them, a young Mexican man named Fernando (Isaac Hernández) goes through a somewhat harrowing journey from the back of a semi truck in South Texas all the way to San Francisco. It’s a familiar immigrant story that seems to set the stage for a film with something interesting to say.

It turns out, however, that Fernando has not made the long and arduous trek for a job. Instead, it’s to be with Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain), a rich woman who helps lead a foundation dedicated to multiple things, including funding dance academies. Fernando, a talented dancer, and Jennifer have been in an off-and-on affair for years, with Jennifer wanting to keep their relationship a secret.

Although both are drawn to each other in an inexplicable, lustful way, their bond is tenuous, with each of them dissatisfied for different reasons. Fernando clearly sacrifices much more of himself than Jennifer, who wants for nothing except maybe more affection from her father, Michael (Marshall Bell), and brother, Jake (Rupert Friend).

Writer/director Michel Franco seems to try to inject tension into Fernando and Jennifer’s relationship from the start, an attempt that is only halfway successful. It’s clear from the way they greet each other - not to mention a steamy sex scene shortly thereafter - that they have known each other for a good length of time. Franco is able to get across this familiarity with an economy of scenes, and the intensity of their bond holds for a while.

But as the film progresses and both of them grow disenchanted with their arrangement, Franco starts taking the story in some odd directions. The biggest issue is that it’s never clear at what point in time the story is taking place. Fernando ends up making multiple trips back and forth across the border, with Jennifer doing the same at one point, and Franco’s use of flashbacks muddies the waters, wrong-footing the audience when he should be trying to draw them further into Fernando and Jennifer’s complications.

Revelations in the final act make the story even more confusing, as both main characters start saying and doing harsh things that seem to come out of nowhere. That would be all well and good if Franco actually committed to their changes of heart, but he keeps things wishy-washy for most of the final 15 minutes, resulting in an ending that makes little sense for either character.

Despite the story issues, both Chastain and Hernández give compelling performances. Chastain has been a little under the radar since winning an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but she keeps this character interesting longer than it should have been. Hernández has limited credits and appears to have been cast for his dancing ability, but he goes toe-to-toe with Chastain on more than one occasion and acquits himself well.

Dreams had all of the ideas to explore a more in-depth story about the complicated immigration policies between Mexico and the U.S., or how wealthy people take advantage of those less fortunate. But Franco never finds the right footing, settling instead for a titillating and somewhat mystifying relationship story that feels half-baked.

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Dreams is now playing in select theaters.

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